Customer Reviews

Making the Case for Yourself (A Diet Book for Smart Women)

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Based on Estrich's credentials, I expected more from this book than it delivers. She tosses a lot of rhetorical questions at the reader (without answers, and sometimes without rationality), struts her stuff as the queen of the overachievers, and then leaves us with a couple of cabbage soup recipes and a behavioral contract. She dresses up some rah-rah and rambles on about how successful the reader is in other aspects of life (since she's so successful, isn't everyone?) and leaves us about where we started. Well, I take that back -- she leaves us feeling a bit WORSE than when we started, because we can't possibly achieve all she has achieved in her young life. My only sense of connection to this woman came when she mentioned shopping at Marshall's and Ross Dress for Less -- that was real. Now, if she'd just used her enormous brainpower to give us some actual content and medical facts or some decent psychological insights, I wouldn't feel ripped off. If she'd done some homework instead of rattling this thing off the top of her head, that might've been a book worth buying.

because I consider myself to be a smart woman! The problem is that Estrich frequently forgot how smart I am. Time and time again, she lapsed into this preachy voice and nagged me about my eating habits the same way my mother did when I was growing up.

The other thing I didn't like about the book was the fact that Estrich considered herself to be huge when she was wearing a size 14--a size that the majority of women on diets would be ecstatic to reach! It's hard to relate to the struggle of someone who went from a size 14 to a size 4 when you're trying to go from a size 24 to a size 14.

The book is clever in parts, but it just wasn't "smart" enough for me.

If you're ready to take off the pounds but you just need to find a starting point, Susan Estrich will give you a shove in the right direction that is anything but subtle. She is someone any woman can identify with, whether career woman or stay-at-home mother. Her diet really works. And, yes, the cabbage soup is delicious, as is the coleslaw. I stumbled over her style in places, but overall this is a well-written, well-organized book. She presents all the best arguments for losing weight in a way that cannot be ignored. I'm down 18 pounds and counting. She makes a great case!

It's a very sad and telling thing when a woman like Estrich, a feminist with magnificent professional acheivements, can seriously say that nothing she has ever accomplished in her life has made her prouder, happier, or more fulfilled than losing weight and that she can only feel good about herself when she looks good.

Nothing? Not her professional achievements? Not the birth of her children? And she can't feel good about herself when she merely DOES good? This is especially warped, considering that Estrich was never any bigger than a size 12 or 14 to begin with.

Eating right and exercising regularly are both very good things that are well worth pursuing, but one's body size is a very shaky platform on which to base one's self esteem.

My advice would be to eat healthy foods, engage regularly in some exercise you enjoy, and read "Self Esteem Comes in All Sizes" by Carol Johnson instead of this book. Too bad Estrich didn't read this book first before writing this one.

I, too, really wanted to like this book because I consider myself a fairly intelligent woman. However, Estrich's sales pitch just went on and on and when she finally gets to the meat of the implementation, I thought she had to be kidding. Where is the nutritional foundation or, more importantly, a food plan that can be adhered to for life? This is another instant-gratification ploy for short-term results.

I loved this book and the diet plan, the first time I followed it (about 1.5 years ago), the second time I followed it (about 6 months ago) and perhaps less so the third time (about 1 month ago) -- and suffice it to say that I regained the weight i had taken off, each time, within about 3 weeks of approaching a slender "goal"-sized body...

Each time I succeeded on the diet, I felt great, I enjoyed buying many new clothes, my friends were all raving about my appearance, and my confidence was soaring. But, as soon as I slipped into reintroducing some carbs and salty fatty carbs into my diet, I found my ability to control my eating behaviors went haywire.

E.g.: the first time I followed by book, after successfully losing 20 pounds over 2 months, a subsequent week at a tempting family seashore house with extended family was followed by whole summer of insane beach-house food indulgence and quick complete re-gain. Likewise, this year, after losing 12 pounds in time for my 40th birthday (thus heavier than last summer's first success but still very happy with it), a series of 3 birthday celebrations for me that week was followed by maniacal food cravings that still haven't stopped months later... It seems that once reintroducing carbs, the cravings go beserk as does my self control. Have any other readers had similar experience (be it truly physiological or psychological) or does anyone have advise on how to level out of this successfully? (If not, I'd say this is a great quick fix, but my experience is quite different from the earlier reviewer who has kept significant weight off!)

I bought Susan's tapes and the book and I have to say that they are very motivating for me in my quest for weight lose. As she mentions, I too have tried that "mindful" way of eating, and it didn't work for me either - put your fork down after every bite, really tasting the food, etc. After a while of trying to eat this way, I would go back to my normal way of eating, and my life is so hurried that sometimes I would forget to be mindful. She definitely presents a "good case" in the ways of talking yourself out of that donut. I have felt so much better since eating this way and my cholesterol has gone from 280 down to 180. I will continue this way of eating and my new way of thinking about food and I will keep listening to Susan's tapes for motivation!

I have tried for years to get control of my weight. This book helped me develop a mental mindset that made it possible for me to lose 20 pounds and keep it off (going on 1 year now).

I see from other reviews, that many readers agree with me. This book finally gave me incentive and tools to lose weight. If you commit yourself to Susan's plan and shtick, you will too. I think it's well researched. Though not a doctor or nutritionist, Susan has tried almost every diet herself. My diet is now almost fat free, full of fruits, vegetables, and more lean protein. I use my "inner lawyer" to make the case for maintaining my new thin body! It's such a kick to be thin after many years of feeling I had to accept that age and weight-gain went hand-in-hand. Working-out was not enough. As Susan says, "You are fat because you don't eat right, and don't exercize enough for YOU."

I didn't like her diet plans - too extreme for me - but I can get a diet plan anywhere. What I really appreciate about this book is her conviction that I CAN do it, and she tells me how. I also loved her comments on how to deal with a day gone bad by appreciating the positive and dealing with the negative without wallowing in self-pity. I first read this book a couple of years ago and I return to it when my resolve needs bolstering.